Then, she tried every means to bring down costs on the part of her tourists, and came up with a free tour schedule to help them tide over the period.

"I arranged for them to visit local museums, factory stores, Buckingham Palace and rural scenic sites," Pan recalls. Her efforts won over tourists who started off being disgruntled and demanding that the travel agency cover their losses.

She also kept in touch with local embassies on a daily basis, keeping up to date about airports' plans to resume operations.

In the end, they boarded the first flight home from Heathrow.

Now, 11 years of hard work have earned her a position as manager of the tour-guide department at Hangzhou China Travel Service Co.

Pan has developed a charming way of helping tourists.

She once enticed a prince from Malaysia to drop his typical formalities and join in group dancing with the crowds along the West Lake in Hangzhou.

"I wouldn't introduce myself as a gold-medal tour guide," she insists. "I want guests to treat me as a friend or relative."

Pan was recently named one of the top 10 most beautiful tour guides in China. The April 29 awards ceremony was hosted by the China National Tourism Administration. The agency aims to honor honest, committed and enthusiastic tour guides and help the public better understand, respect and trust tour guides.

Pan's sincerity has been reciprocated with kind assistance from her guests.